Cases

If members of the public want to see where some of the most difficult court cases in Connecticut are handled, they need only to visit Family Court, where painful and heart wrenching scenarios unfold every day. These cases, by their very nature, involve the breakdown of a relationship between two adults, the custody of their children and the division of their finances. Quite simply, it does not get more personal than that. So, it's not surprising that dissatisfaction with the outcome of some high-conflict Family Court cases has made its way to the General Assembly.

NEW YORK - The video, not some great and enduring principle, led the Baltimore Ravens to cut Ray Rice on Monday. The video, certainly not moral fiber or a sage's wisdom, led NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend the running back indefinitely. The Atlantic City casino security video, uncovered by TMZ Sports, forced professional football to do what it should have done months ago. And because neither the Ravens nor the NFL addressed a horrible situation with the seriousness and severity it merited, fresh questions, serious questions, have arisen about Goodell's ability to lead the most powerful sports league in North America.

Police have released a photo of a local woman who was last seen by family members in 2003 with the hope of reviving the cold case. Police released a photo Thursday of Joyvaline Martinez, 29. She is about 5 feet 6, with a thin build and light complexion. Officers periodically check into old missing persons cases and re-interview family members to see whether cases can be revived, said Officer Hugo Benettieri, the department spokesman. In Martinez's case, detectives recently re-interviewed her family and received the photo of her, so they decided to release it to see if the public can provide any leads into her disappearance, he said.

NEWINGTON — Less than 24 hours before residents go to the polls, about 24 people stood downtown Monday holding signs urging defeat of a referendum to fix up town hall and build a new community center in Mill Pond Park. The protestors blew horns, waved and whooped as rush hour traffic jammed the intersection of Main and Cedar Streets. More than few motorists tooted their horns in support as they drove past. "It's really simple," said Beth Manke, holding a sign reading "Save Mill Pond Park, Vote No 9-9" that she had fashioned from cardboard and a ruler.

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, cdempsey@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, June 10, 2013

Police have received two reports of men exposing themselves to female victims in recent days, the department reported on Facebook. The incidents are not believed to be related. One happened about 1:45 p.m. Sunday on Brentwood Avenue, police said. A female jogger reported that a man jumped out of some bushes and began masturbating. He ran away through back yards. The man was described as being white and wearing a white T shirt and black shorts. He was about 5 feet 4 tall and was in his early 30s, police said.

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, December 31, 2013

A series of fatal cases of Lyme disease in the Northeast, including one from Connecticut, have health officials on the lookout for a very rare complication of the tick-borne disease. The first fatality was in November 2012, when a Massachusetts resident was found dead in his car. Several of his organs were recovered for transplant, including his heart, which was sent to a tissue bank for examination. There, the heart was found to have distinctive signs of Lyme carditis, a condition in which bacteria from Lyme disease enters the heart tissue.

As the father of a 34-year-old Down syndrome daughter, I can attest to the fact that Martha has brought joy to our family and others. As a single parent for many years, I have been able to travel with Martha to Israel, France, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Florida, Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona, as well as Texas. Parents who are considering terminating a Down syndrome baby should re-consider their decision. Joseph P. Nolan, Trumbull

Two cases of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness rarely seen in the U.S., have been reported in Connecticut. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that, as of Thursday, there have been 285 cases of cyclosporiasis in the U.S.. Most of those cases occurred since the beginning of June. Besides Connecticut, the cases have been in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia and New Jersey. Health officials from Illinois and Kansas have also reported cases of cyclosporiasis but say they believe those cases were contracted in other states.

Evidence continues to mount that the state Judicial Department is numerically challenged. In January, department officials acknowledged there were 185 cases that carried the super-secret Level 1 designation. The public is denied any knowledge about those cases -- the identities of the parties, the names of the judges and even an acknowledgment that the cases exist. In February, however, the number of Level 1 cases was revised to 104 after judicial officials apparently conducted a more accurate count.

Residents in the Minnechaug Mountain area along Route 83 are being warned to look out for rabid skunks. In the past two weeks there have been five reported cases of rabid skunks coming in contact with people and animals, police said. The rabid skunks have been surprisingly aggressive, including one case in which a skunk attacked a St. Bernard, said Cathy Kodes, the town's animal control officer. Four incidents have been reported on Cedar Ridge Terrace and one on Natchaug Drive.

GLASTONBURY - Over the past 250 years, crime has always brought readers to the pages of The Hartford Courant. From the notorious to the sublime to the stupid crooks, crime stories seem to attract readers. And September 8, 1915 was no different. Here is the case of the Balkus boys who were arrested and fined for throwing sticks and stones at their neighbor - or a case of mistaken identity? "Marian and Daniel Balkus, 16 and 17-years-old respectively, sons of Joseph Balkus, were arrested and tried before Justice of the Peace Henry H. Hunt yesterday morning for using insulting language and throwing sticks and stones at a neighbor Joseph Starsick.

ENFIELD — Jonathan Torres was with his family minutes before he was fatally shot outside his home on Prospect Street Wednesday night. The family was eating dinner, and then Torres, 19, went outside to sit on the front steps, his mother's boyfriend, Joe Cheney, said in an interview Thursday morning. Within five minutes, Cheney said, he heard a gunshot. When he went outside to see what had happened, Cheney said, he saw a man standing over Torres on the steps of the house and two other men nearby.

HARTFORD - The 18-year-old Hartford teen shot by police with a Taser last month appeared before a judge in Hartford Community Court Wednesday, but nothing was determined about the charges he is facing in the incident. About a dozen or so protesters stood on the sidewalk outside the courthouse at 80 Washington St. prior to the arraignment holding signs asking for the charges of interfering with police and breach of peace to be dropped against Luis Anglero Jr. When Anglero appeared before Judge Thelma Santos, prosecutors said they had spoken with his attorney earlier and agreed to continue the case to Oct. 15. Anglero's attorney, Jamaal T. Johnson, said outside the courtroom that he believed his client would not be convicted.

MILFORD - Shortly before Superior Court Judge Frank A. Iannotti accepted Dardian Celaj's guilty plea in a Derby rape case last April, he had a few questions for the 36-year-old Albanian national and his lawyer. "Do you understand if you are not a citizen of the United States, the plea of guilty could result in deportation or removal from the United States, exclusion from admission to the United States, and denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States? Do you understand that, sir?"

Letting state employees off the hook for "stealing" benefits that were not rightfully due to them is by all rights a miscarriage of justice [Aug. 23, Page 1, "State Ends Fraud Case"]. But blaming Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for it is just wrong. Although I'm not a real big fan of Malloy, you've got to give credit where credit is due. Malloy had accused workers suspended when the incident was reported -- it was the lawyers and unions that fought that and substanily got them their jobs back.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced a dramatic new domestic violence policy for the league Thursday, admitting "I didn't get it right" with Ray Rice. The measures were announced in a letter to all team owners and come after widespread criticism and a social media firestorm that Goodell absorbed following his handling of discipline for the Baltimore Ravens running back. A first offense under the new domestic violence policy calls for a six-game suspension, while a second offense would result in a lifetime ban. The two-game suspension for Rice left many with the impression that the NFL did not take domestic violence seriously as a crime.

While the Clinton administration and Connecticut's two U.S. senators move slowly to fill three coveted federal judgeships - one of the jobs has been open for three years - Eleanor Blanchard waits for her day in court. Fired in 1987 after 45 years with the same company, Blanchard filed an age-discrimination lawsuit in 1989. Jury selection in the case is finally scheduled for June, the month after the Hamden woman turns 70. "I can't believe this is happening to me. They must be waiting for me to die," said Blanchard, who has worked only sporadically since her firing.

There are at least 185 civil and family court cases in Connecticut that, as far as the public is concerned, don't exist. These cases appear on no docket sheets. Their files are sealed away in envelopes. The identities of the parties involved are masked, with numbers taking the place of their names. Why? Because the respective judges in those cases determined that such secrecy "is necessary to preserve an interest which is determined to override the public's interest in attending such proceedings or in viewing such materials," in the words of the Connecticut Practice Book.

For the second straight week, the State Election Enforcement Commission met behind closed doors but couldn't decide whether Northeast Utilities CEO Thomas J. May violated state law last year by asking about 50 company managers to contribute money to help Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy win re-election. "We have no announcements to make," commission Chairman Anthony J. Castagno said Wednesday when panel members emerged from a 90-minute executive session in Hartford. "We are continuing item 2013-176.

The application that Connecticut Light & Power made months ago to raise rates has moved forward in the complex and often heated process that occurs when public, regulated utilities request more money from their ratepayers. Letters are being written, politicians have taken stances and on Wednesday hearings began that will allow the public an opportunity to chime in. The most minute of facts surrounding the rate case will be offered and cross-examined by lawyers for CL&P and consumer advocates such as the Office of Consumer Counsel and the state attorney general.